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Monday, June 23, 2014

A
Christian woman on death row in a Sudanese prison has been released on the
orders of a court in Khartoum after her case became the focus of an
international campaign. Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery
and to be hanged for apostasy after refusing to renounce her faith last month. The
Sudanese state news agency Suna said: "The appeal court ordered the
release of [Ibrahim] and the cancellation of the [earlier] court ruling." However,
there was no sign of Ibrahim, her husband Daniel Wani or their two children at
the couple's home in Khartoum. Mohaned Mostafa, a member of Ibrahim's legal
team, said she had been moved to a safehouse "for her protection and
security". He told Reuters: "Her family had been threatened before
and we are worried that someone might try to harm her." Judges have been
hearing an appeal against Ibrahim's convictions for the past two weeks. Her
lawyers argued that the case wasbased
on weak, contradictory and inconsistent claims, and contravenedSudan's interim constitution. After being
imprisoned with her toddler son, Ibrahim gave birth to a daughter while
shackled to the floor of her cell. Wani, who has been permitted only brief
visits to his family, said his wife and children were being held in inhumane
conditions in Omdurman women's prison. Ibrahim was convicted of apostasy after
the court insisted she was a Muslim because her father was a Muslim, even
though Ibrahim said she had been brought up as a Christian after her father
abandoned the family when she was six. Her 2011 marriage to Wani was declared invalid,
resulting in her conviction for adultery. After her conviction, Ibrahim was
given three days to renounce her faith or face a death sentence. The leaders of
Britain's three main political parties backed a campaign to get Ibrahim
released. David Cameron said he was "absolutely appalled" by the
sentences. "The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in
today's world. Religious freedom is an absolute, fundamental human right,"
the prime minister said. The US state department said it was "deeply
disturbed" by the case and called on Khartoum to respect the right to
freedom ofreligion. Hillary Clinton,
Tony Blair, Jesse Jackson and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, were
among high-profile international figures calling for the sentence to be
dropped.Source (The Guardian)